Thursday, March 17, 2011

dear me

i opened my trusty old mailbox that sits at the street and 
found among the junkyard of paper, three letters. 
letters. handwritten. stamped. 
all addressed to dear me.
all in one day.

letters from three of my favorite people, 
each thanking me for the small gesture of friendship,
on an early spring day

blueberries in hand, i visited two of my friends the week before,
for no reason in particular, except i had not seen them in awhile.
we sat, listened, laughed, remembered
and the gift was mine —
time to study not the clock but their faces, time to meet not a deadline but our minds, after an extended absence.
what treasures these friends are to me, i thought as i drove home,
unaware that both would that day 
set down on paper in their own scrawl what 
my gesture meant to them. 
and send it on.

the third note, filled with colorful squiggles 
drawn by my favorite three-year-old (and the pen of her mother) 
was in celebration of something good we had done together.
those squiggles on envelope and note tell me that  one day when that funny three-year-old can write words,
she, too, will set words to paper in 
her own scrawl, seal, stamp
then send it on, 
for someone dear to find 
in a rusty old mailbox at the street,
for no reason in particular
which is reason, well enough
 
sbr




4 comments:

  1. This is so special. I will never possess your talent, but I am humbled by this post. Sending so much love your wayo

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  2. Oops, way... : )

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  3. Absolutely beautiful, Susan. Makes me think how important these smallest of moments are, the little gestures, the tiny remembrances we make. That it's tangible in this increasingly digital lives of ours, all the better. Thanks for sharing.

    Lyn

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  4. there's just nothing like opening your mailbox to find a handwritten note . . . or 3. you know, i've started penning thank you notes again - 1 a day (except for the last 2 weeks during the move) - and it's amazing that the more thank you notes i write, the more i have to write thank you notes about. love this post.

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